


Gamma Nights

by ArcherSceptile



Series: Multiversal Madness [1]
Category: Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types, X-Factor (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 00:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21261947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcherSceptile/pseuds/ArcherSceptile
Summary: Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man. Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man. Kitty Pryde, leader of the X-Men. Monet St. Croix, Indestructible Badass. Wade Wilson, the Merc with a Mouth. Bruce Banner, the Immortal Hulk. Together these 6 must work together and figure out why citizens of New York have been turned into Gamma creatures.





	Gamma Nights

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I play fast and loose with continuity. Best summary for where each of the characters would be at:  
Peter - Somewhere in Nick Spencer's current ASM run  
Bruce Banner - The Immortal Hulk #15  
Jamie Madrox and Monet St. Croix - Peter David's X-Factor (prior to Shatterstar joining the team)  
Kitty Pryde - Somewhere in X-Men Gold in an alternate continuity  
Wade Wilson - Somewhere  
Sorry for the confusing continuity!

“Gamma. Why does it have to be gamma?” Jamie thinks aloud. He heavily sighs. “My life has gone from film noir to horror. What did I do to deserve this?”

“We can hear you, Madrox,” Monet irritably responds. “Stop with the ‘film noir’ drama and just let him finish speaking.” 

“Film Noir? You can make a million copies of yourself, and film noir is the best genre you can come up with?” Peter asks, horrified. 

“This coming from the guy who hates Star Wars?” Jamie shoots back. 

“This is getting way off-topic, Dr. Banner, you can continue,” Monet interrupts. 

“Look at it like this: There’s a giant door, and behind it is untapped gamma energy. Someone opened that door. And all that energy was directed magically. Halloween is probably the best time of year to disguise the magic as just part of the theatrics, and all the people in costume turning into gamma creatures could be seen as just Halloween makeup. Apparently, the other guy is really popular since the world figured out we’re kinda back,” Bruce says, with his tone turning heavier towards the end. 

“But how did this start? We need to find out where it started to figure out what caused it,” Peter says, perched on a wall. 

“Oh, I smell a flashback!” Deadpool says. 

* * *

** _2 Hours Ago, Manhattan_ **

“No! I will not go to your stupid Halloween party, Madrox!” Monet shouted, startling the people at the cafe they’re at. “What on Earth would get you to think that I would attend? And wearing _ that _ costume?” She gestured towards the Great Pumpkin costume with all the disgust she could muster. 

“C’mon M, it’s not that bad. Layla is Peppermint Patty,” Jamie responded, trying to calm her down. _ Ok, maybe it is a bit ugly, but someone has to wear it. One of my dupes is attending for me. _ He thought to himself. 

“You realize I’m a telepath, right?” She asked through her clenched teeth. Before he could respond, Guido, dressed as Linus Van Pelt, came crashing through the door.

“Yo, Madrox, we got a bit of a situation!” The patrons of the cafe jump in fear as the giant mutant started maneuvering through the narrow quarters. “There’s like a monster attack in front of X-Factor HQ.” 

“Let’s move team,” Jamie jumped up, discarding the costume for Monet. 

The team arrived at X-Factor Investigations, and it looked like a scene from a horror movie. As the trio approached the building, the monsters suddenly focused all their attention on them. 

“Something isn’t right here,” Madrox said. “They-They look like they’re wearing costumes.” 

“Yeah, I noticed that before, I don’t get it though,” Guido responded. “Wolfsbane and the others should be around here somewhere.” No sooner than he finished the sentence, the trio was attacked by a monster jumping from the top of the building. “R-Rahne?” Dressed as Sally Brown, a monstrous Rahne Sinclair started attacking the trio. 

“Str… ange…” Rahne growled. 

“Ok, what the hell is going on?” Madrox asked. 

“I dunno. When I left, everything was fine.” Guido replied. “But we gotta find the rest of th- ARGH!” Clutching his head in pain, Guido dropped to the ground. His skin started to turn green, with claws protruding from his hands. Jamie took a step back in fear as Guido stood up, an angry snarl on his face. Guido backhanded Jamie, causing him to produce 3 dupes upon him hitting the ground. 

“Oh, that tears it. I’m gonna kick your ass!” One of the dupes shouted, rolling up his sleeves. The other two dupes decided to hold him back. “Lemme go, lemme at ‘em!” 

“Madrox, we need to retreat, until we figure out what’s going on,” Monet called, swooping down to grab him. 

“You’re right M. We should head to the Avengers, they probably should know what’s going on.” 

* * *

** _Westchester, New York_ **

“Why aren’t you ready for the Halloween party yet? Madrox’s team is almost ready,” Rachel informed Kitty. Kitty turns around and her laugh left her mouth before she can even think about it. “What’s so funny?” Rachel glared at her girlfriend’s unexpected outburst. 

“Nothing, it’s just, you’re wearing the wrong ascot. The green one is supposed to be mine,” Kitty responded in between laughs. Rachel tossed Kitty the green ascot and pulled out the orange one she had in her pocket. 

“God, why can’t Fred wear normal colors?” Rachel complained. “Well, how do I look?” She tucked her right hand into her pocket and gave Kitty a huge smile. 

“I’ll put on my Daphne costume in a bit,” Kitty replied. Rachel walked up to her and cupped her face. _ What are you doing? _

_ Maybe I just wanna stare at you? Ever think about that? _ Rachel thought back. 

_ I don’t know, you’re the mind reader. You tell me. _ Kitty answered with a sly smile. _ We have some time to ourselves, why don’t we use it _\- A sudden crash startled both of them, and they jumped up abruptly. Kitty grabbed Rachel’s hand, and together they phased through the ground, heading towards the main hall. 

“Ok, you guys have exactly 5 seconds to tell me what’s going on!” Kitty yelled at Iceman and Colossus. 

“Uhhh, Shaggy over there just started throwing things and making them explode,” Bobby replied. Kitty turned to Gambit, whose skin was green. Gambit turned to the 4 X-Men and started tossing charged items at them. Bobby erected a shield out of ice, which took the brunt of the explosion. “Why is Gambit trying to kill us?” 

“I have no idea. I couldn’t read his mind. He was blocked… But it was weird, the feeling I got when I touched his mind,” Rachel responded. Before she could continue, Colossus sunk to his knees in pain. The red Power Ranger helmet he was sporting fell off, and his metallic skin started turning a dark green color. Standing up, Colossus charged at the trio, who were able to dodge it. Bobby froze his legs together from the knees down. 

“I guess he’s been pu-” Bobby started. 

“I swear if you finish that sentence, I’m going to kick your ass,” Kitty glared at him. Bobby gulped in terror. 

“Ok, I won’t say that, but how about this: WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS GOING ON? I just want one day where a supervillain isn’t trying to take us out! Is that too much to-” Bobby suddenly stopped talking, as his skin also started changing colors. Kitty and Rachel looked at each other in fear, as Bobby evaporated the ice around Colossus’ legs. Turning to the two women, Bobby and Colossus geared up to attack. Grabbing Rachel’s hand, Kitty phased through the two of them and passed through the nearby wall. 

“Str… ange…” Bobby and Colossus grunted in unison. 

“What are we going to do?” Kitty asked, never letting go of Rachel’s hand. 

“I wonder, their skin is turning green, could it have something to do with the rumors that the Hulk is immortal and starting an army?” Rachel theorized. 

“We have to go to the Avengers,” Kitty declared. “Let’s get ready to move.” Kitty stood up first, pulling Rachel to her feet. Rachel immediately collapsed to the ground, her skin turning green. But all Kitty focused on was the sound of pain leaving her mouth. “R-Rachel?” Rachel looked up at Kitty, with a sinister grin. She slashed at Kitty, and instinctively, Kitty grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a kick. “Oh man, I’m so sorry!” Kitty ran out of the room, trying to avoid other X-Men. She wasn’t entirely sure how in control they were of their actions, so getting into a fight with them could potentially harm them. 

The wall behind Kitty exploded into splinters as Colossus came barreling through. Tucking into a roll, she avoided any damage, but now Colossus, Iceman, and Rachel are on her tail. She ran through the hall until she reached the point she was aiming for and phased through the floor. She phased down until she reached the Danger Room. As she landed, the ceiling above her burst as the rogue X-Men fell after her. 

“Computer, activate the Team Leader segment, max difficulty!” She yelled out. The room transformed into several rooftops in Japan. Ogun and his ninjas attack, and Kitty used the distraction to escape the room. She made her way to the garage, where she saw Wolverine’s bike, ready to ride. 

* * *

** _Peter Parker and Robbie Robertson’s home_ **

“What’s the matter, Tiger? Not in a Halloween mood?” Mary Jane asked. Peter’s Ron Stoppable outfit sat untouched on their bed. “You gotta admit, I look good.” Dressed in Kim Possible’s stealth suit, Peter’s heart thumped upon staring at his girlfriend. 

“You look amazing MJ. I love it. It’s just my Spider-Sense, it’s been buzzing all day,” Peter responded. 

“Pete! MJ! Hurry up!” came Fred’s impatient voice. The couple rolled their eyes, and left the room, to see what the ruckus was all about. Seeing Myers in his Boomerang gear, Peter had to fight his every instinct not to punch him in the face. Without even looking back, Mary Jane grabbed Peter’s hand, and squeezed it gently, causing all the anger to have drained from his face. “You’re not even dressed, what gives?” 

“I have a headache, I don’t think I’ll go tonight,” Peter said flatly. 

“Of course not, you’re gonna flake again,” Fred responded angrily. His face started to turn green, and he started to growl at the couple. 

“Fred, you’re taking going green with envy to a new level,” Peter quipped. Mary Jane groaned and pulled him back into their room. Fred threw one of his explosive boomerangs, detonating the door. Peter turned to Mary Jane, about to tell her to get out of the apartment, when he saw her skin started to turn green too. She lunged at him, and Peter used his agility to leap over her. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out his prototype collapsable web-shooters and wrapped them around his wrists. Separating the two, Peter knocked Fred back into the living room and webbed Mary Jane to their bed. Then, he punched Fred in the gut and webbed him to the floor. Before he could sigh in relief, he heard a commotion from outside. Peering out the window, he saw a mob of people, all with green skin and costumes attacking other civilians. “I gotta figure this out… Lemme grab my costume.” He headed into his closet and reached for his costume, but was stopped by his Spider-Sense. “The costumes, that’s it! People in costume are the ones turning into these Green Goblin wannabes. I gotta do this without the costume.” He rummaged through his closet, finding his black suit. He took the mask from it and jammed it on his head. Leaping out his window, he made his way towards Avengers Tower. 

As Peter was swinging, he saw a bright flash of light illuminate the night sky. Despite having a bad feeling about it, he decided to make his way over to it. 

* * *

** _Broadway, New York_ **

“You know, I wanna unalive everyone here, but there’s a voice in my head saying ‘Wade, don’t kill them all, they’re not aware of their actions’ so I guess everyone gets rubber bullets,” Deadpool said to no one in particular. 

“That voice, that’s your conscience Wade. And what are you doing here?” Peter asked, finding the source of the bright light to be a flare gun from Deadpool. 

“Well, I was going to partake in my favorite Halloween pastime and egg Avengers Tower, but then everyone turned green and tried to kill me!” He replied, shooting some of the people surrounding them. “It works better since they’ve been in space for a bit, Thor something about a rabbit needing their help. Speaking of Avengers, where’s the rest of your costume? Did you need the brown pants?” He gestured at the brown jeans Peter was wearing. 

“From what I gather, wearing a costume turns you into one of the Goblin knockoffs,” Peter replied. “And you’re on my case, but at least I’m wearing clothes that make sense.” Deadpool scoffed at him while brushing some dust off his pink Hawaiian shirt. 

“I look good Webs. And all of my clothes conceal deadly weapons. I never wear a costume on Halloween, I just look like someone who spent waaaaaaay too much time on special effects makeup.” Peter shook his head in annoyance. They’re surrounded by people, and Deadpool looked too trigger happy for Peter’s liking. 

“Str… ange…” The people mumbled. 

“What are they saying?” Peter asked, confused. 

“I don’t know Webs, but I’m ready to throw down!” Deadpool responded, firing at some of the crowd. Peter grabbed Deadpool and started webbing up as many people as he could that was in their way towards the tower. 

“Let’s just go inside the tower. We need to send a beacon out to any available heroes. We need to figure out what’s going on.” 

“Orrr, I can keep shooting things and having my own Halloween fun.” 

“Wade!” Peter shouted as he started to enter Avengers Tower. 

“**Welcome to Avengers Tower. Please show Avengers ID Card or state your business**,” Came the voice of Jarvis through the loudspeaker. Peter held up his Avengers ID card and the odd pair was let in. 

“How’d that work? I thought Slott took away your Avengers privileges after the Octopus thing?” Deadpool asked. 

“Are you insane? Wait, who am I kidding, of course, you are.”

“And you still love me for it,” Deadpool said, hugging Peter. Peter pushed him off, calling him a variety of insulting names. Before Peter could respond any further, the duo ran into Jarvis. 

“Ah, Spider-Man. I see we’re not celebrating Halloween this year.” Jarvis deadpanned to the two. 

“Everyone in costumes is being turned into weird green creatures,” Peter responded. 

“That’s what’s going on?” Jamie Madrox said as he and Monet enter the main foyer. “And that explains why you look like you just rolled out of bed and tossed on a mask.”

“Multiple Man? Aren’t you dead?” Deadpool asked. 

“Eh, probably somewhere,” Jamie responded. 

“How did you get in here?” Peter asked. 

“Some idiot left the front door open,” Monet answered. Deadpool cracked up laughing and slapped Peter on the back. 

“She called you an idiot!” Deadpool howled through his laughter. Peter glared at him, causing him to laugh even harder. 

“Would you shut up for once?!” Peter yelled. “So does anyone have any idea what’s going on?” 

“New York has gone to hell,” Kitty Pryde said, joining the group. “I thought your team was all in costume for the party?” She directed towards Jamie and Monet. 

“I had a dupe take my place and M here refused to put on the costume because she has no sense of adventure,” Jamie responded without a second thought. 

“We need to know more details, at least what they’re turning into,” Peter said, bringing the group back into focus. 

“They’re turning into Gamma creatures,” came a voice from the balcony above them. 

“Seriously? Is everyone waiting around for good entrance lines?” Deadpool asked. 

“How do you know that?” Peter questioned, ignoring Deadpool. 

“You could say I’m an expert.” Walking into the light, Dr. Bruce Banner made his presence known. “Whenever Gamma is involved, there’s an itch in my skull. And tonight, it’s been on fire.” 

* * *

** _Now_ **

“This isn’t helping,” Kitty remarks, as the group finishes comparing notes. 

“Flashbacks rarely do, they’re for playing catchup than for finding missing clues,” Deadpools says. 

“Wait, I think there is something to note though,” Jamie responds. “The gamma creatures have access to the original powers of their host, it seems, based on Kitty’s story.” 

“I’ve been running scans of the city, trying to find the highest point of Gamma activity. And it looks like it’s concentrated in Central Park. We’re gonna have to be careful, the Great Lawn is just wide open space,” Bruce warns. 

“So we know where to go. What’s the plan? Or do I just punch everything?” Monet responds. 

“Take out whatever is opening the Gamma door and hope that that’s enough?” Peter offers. “As for the magic, maybe there’s a way to figure out how to reverse it before we confront whoever.” 

“Well, Dr. Strange is unavailable,” Bruce informs. “Strange is helping out Loki with some containment cask thing.” 

“Oh no, they broke that again?” Peter asks, mortified. 

“What about the Scarlet Witch?” Jamie inquires. 

“She’s not available because she doesn’t fit in the story,” Deadpool responds. Everyone in the room stared at him in confusion. 

“I might be able to contact Magik,” Kitty says. She pulls a stone out of her pocket and squeezes it in her hand. It starts to glow, and suddenly, the shimmering image of a battle-weary Illyana Rasputin appears before them. 

“What’s going on? I’m kinda dealing with a demon rebellion in Limbo,” Illyana says. 

“So there’s a combination of magic and gamma energy that turned everyone wearing costumes into gamma creat-”

“Goblins. Gamma Goblins,” Peter interjects. 

“**Anyways**,” Kitty says icily. “We were hoping there was a way that we could reverse it.” 

“A channeling spell. It isn’t that hard to reverse, but once that’s done, then all the gamma energy that’s being channeled into these people will manifest itself into untethered beings. Basically, the monster would reform outside of the person.” She adds the last part seeing the confusion on everyone’s faces. “This is what you’re going to need to reverse the spell, and to do so, you’re going to have to toss it into the well of magical energy.” A stepping disc appeared in front of Kitty, dropping a crystal into her hand. 

“Thank you, Illyana. You’re a lifesaver,” Kitty says, giving her a warm smile. Returning the smile, Illyana phases away. 

“Ok, so we can expel the magic and know where to go, when can I stab things?” Deadpool asks, suddenly brandishing his katanas.

“Wade, where did you get your swords from,” Peter asks, confused. 

“Hammerspace,” Deadpool deadpans. 

“Let’s get ready to move,” Bruce says. “We don’t know what we’re going to be up against, so expect the heaviest of resistance.” 

“Since we’re in Avengers tower, why don’t we stock up on supplies? I’m sure the Avengers wouldn’t mind, especially if we return them,” Jamie offers. 

“So you’re suggesting we loot Avengers tower?” Monet asks. 

“We could use a Quinjet,” Jamie responds. He turns towards Jarvis to see if that’s possible, and Jarvis nods. “Sweet, let’s lock and load.” 

“You’re taking the horror route pretty well,” Deadpool points out. 

“In my head, we’re veering into 80s action movie territory,” He responds. A dupe of his appears from another room in the tower holding a giant gun. The dupe tosses him the gun, and Jamie reabsorbs him. 

“When did you send a dupe out Madrox?” Monet sharply asks. 

“During the flashbacks,” Jamie replies, shooting Deadpool a grin. “This gun was designed by Tony Stark and wreaks havoc on gamma creatures.” He turns to Bruce with an apologetic look. “I think this was built when you first came back and no one knew what side you were on.” 

“Tony and I are going to have a discussion when he gets back,” Bruce says, taking the gun from Jamie. The unlikely team heads to the hangar and boards the Quinjet.

* * *

** _Central Park_ **

The Quinjet flies over Central Park and the team jumps out. Monet flies Jamie and Kitty down while Peter and Bruce parachute down. The 5 of them touch down and start to survey the surrounding areas. 

“Where’s Wade?” Peter whispers. Looking around, no one can confirm Deadpool’s location, until they hear a scream. Looking up, they see a pink dot illuminated in the night sky, rapidly approaching them. “Uhh, maybe we should move.” The screaming gets louder as the group splits away, and Deadpool crashes into the ground face first. 

“Nvvvr go… dfn thft afgnwn.” Comes Deadpool’s muffled voice, his head buried in the ground. His body starts to put itself together, and every movement his body makes lets loose crunching sounds that sound almost unnatural. 

“So much for a stealth mission,” Monet comments, rolling her eyes. “Since I’m invulnerable, I’m going to scout ahead.” Monet flies forward, using her telepathy to scan the area. She’s disturbed just hearing one think over and over: “Str… ange…” Shuddering, Monet presses onward and sees a shimmering light coming from the ground. Reaching out with her mind, she links up to Jamie. _ Madrox. I think I found where we’re supposed to toss that crystal. I’m standing by, get here. _ She feels Jamie acknowledge her and she withdraw from his head. For Monet, the less time she spends in his head, the better. It’s so confusing in there, none of his memories are linear and she can never tell which thoughts are his and which are his dupes. 

Hovering above the area, Monet sees the group start to mobilize. Bruce and Deadpool are leading the group, with Peter right behind. What makes Monet roll her eyes is the army of Madroxes right behind them. As they get closer, seemingly out of nowhere, an army of costumed people appears to materialize to slow them down. Deadpool is firing beanbag rounds out of a shotgun, to knock them back, while Peter webs them up. On the other side of the light source, Kitty appears from below the ground, with Madrox (or is it a dupe?) in tow. Kitty tosses the crystal into the light, and it explodes in white light. All the possessed people drop to the ground, motionless. Peter runs to an unconscious Mary Jane and cradles her head in his lap. Even with his mask, Jamie can see how much she means to him. He takes a mental note of what she looks like. 

“Is that it? Is this over?” Deadpool asks, the disappointment in his voice evident. “I thought disrupting the spell just would reform the monsters.” As soon as he finishes his statement, the ground beneath them starts tremoring. Claws started protruding from the ground, green, hulking claws. 

“We need to get these people out of here!” Peter yells. “Multiple Man, make as many of you as possible, there are at least 50 people here.” Nodding his head, Jamie adds to his dupe count and each dupe starts to carry a civilian. Jamie heads to Peter to escort Mary Jane out, and Peter reluctantly lets him take her from him. “Don’t let any of them get hurt.” 

As Jamie is escorting the civilians, the gamma creatures finally rise from the ground. 

“They’re zombie gamma creatures!” Deadpool shouts excitedly. “Can I shoot them?” 

“YES!” Everyone shouts at him. Deadpool loads his guns with real bullets and starts going to town. Bruce is shooting creatures with the gamma blaster, and it’s effective. Monet swoops down and lifts a creature, and then tosses it at a group of them. 

“We’re not making any headway, what do we do here?” Peter shouts. “There’s too many of them. What’s causing them?” Before anyone could respond, the ground rumbles again. A hand emerges from the ground, followed by a scaly, dark green claw. The two bodies rise from the ground, and Bruce backs up in fear. 

“C-Creel? Blonsky?” Bruce says, stunned. 

“Banner. You need to join us,” Absorbing Man says. Holding his arms out in a T-pose, he starts absorbing the gamma energy in the air. He’s getting bigger and greener, and energy is crackling all around him. “Strange is coming for this world.” Abomination jumps forward and swings at Peter and Deadpool, sending them soaring in the air. Monet charges at Abomination, but he moves faster than she can track, cracking her across the jaw. 

“I’m not picking up any thoughts from them other than the word Strange,” Monet says, spitting blood out her mouth. “Why are they talking about Strange? What’s he have to do with this? Also, do you have any tips on taking them down?” 

“I honestly have no idea why they keep repeating Strange. And I got one, but it’s not gonna be pretty.” Bruce fires the gun at Abomination, stunning him for a second. Absorbing Man charges at Bruce, who attempts to dodge. Absorbing Man catches Bruce in the gut, sending him flying in the air. Abomination breaks free of the stun and jumps after him. He grabs Bruce, and slams him into the ground, creating a crater. Bruce’s body was in a collapsed heap, stunning the rest of the team. 

“That’s one down. Who wants to be next?” Abomination asked, a sinister grin forming on his face. Bruce’s body starts to twitch and come back together. “What? What’s going on?” 

“Night… Is his time…” Bruce gasps weakly. A giant green hand emerges from the crater. Glowing green eyes pierce the night sky, and he lets loose a roar that shakes the very souls of everyone around. 

“You hurt Banner,” The Devil Hulk says. “I take that personally.” Hulk punches Abomination in the face, knocking him several feet away. “Pryde!” He bellows. 

“Yes?” Kitty says, phasing up next to him. 

“I need to absorb their gamma energy, starting with Creel.” 

“Why Creel first?” Kitty asks, confused. 

“Because Blonsky is dead. And I’m sure he’s the host. Creel is just hired muscle,” Hulk answers. “You and the others just need to distract him. I’ll handle the hard work.” 

Hulk charges towards Absorbing Man. They trade punches and the shockwaves from their collision send shockwaves that rip the ground around them. Peter, Jamie, and Deadpool rejoin the fight, and Kitty catches everyone up on the plan. Jamie grabs the discarded gamma blaster, and snaps his fingers, creating a couple of dupes, each with their blaster. Deadpool shoots Abomination in his hollow eyes, to no effect. Abomination charges at the group, and Monet meets him head-on. She intercepts his punch with a quick jab to his face and several more rapid-fire jabs. She finishes it up with an uppercut, and then zooms upwards, giving Jamie and his dupes time to fire the gamma blasters. Once Abomination hits the ground, Kitty jumps on top of him and slowly phases his body into the ground while Peter leaps in the air and webs as much of him as he can to the ground. 

While the rest of them are fighting Abomination, Hulk and Absorbing Man are trading one deadly blow for another. Neither of the two is giving an inch, and each traded blow discharges gamma energy. Absorbing Man lands a punch on Hulk’s solar plexus, causing him to stagger. Clasping his hands together, he swings his arms up at Hulk’s jaw, knocking him upwards. Landing on his back, Hulk lashes out with a kick to Absorbing Man’s gut, winding him. Hulk unveils a devilish grin and begins to press his advantage. After landing several heavy blows, Hulk grabs both of Absorbing Man’s wrists and lets the gamma energy surge through him. The more Hulk absorbs, the less of Absorbing Man stays around. After Hulk finishes, Absorbing Man fades away. Hulk realizes that Absorbing Man was just a construct. Turning to the restrained Abomination, Hulk makes his way towards him. 

“I thought so. Creel was a fake. And Abomination is also a fake. Blonsky died years ago,” Hulk explains. “The gamma energy was real, but the situation wasn’t. Someone, or something, created these constructs. My best guess is the Leader is back. He can project gamma energy.” Hulk leans to absorb the gamma energy from Abomination. 

“Strange is coming from another world! It’s the rise of a new Intelligencia. There’s a new President. Luth-” Abomination is cut off as Hulk absorbs him. 

“Something feels off. Why is this all coming back to you?” Peter asks the Hulk. 

“If you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of people who want me and Banner dead. If the Leader and his Intelligencia are back, then we might be in trouble. Especially with this talk of another world,” Hulk responds. 

“Who or what is Strange?” Jamie asks. “Is it another version of Dr. Strange?” 

“We need to find the leader and put a bullet in him,” Deadpool responds, waving his guns. 

“Let’s each prepare our respective teams, and Hulk, we’re going to need you,” Kitty says.

“We’ll be around.” 

“Speaking of which, I have people I need to check on,” Peter says, swinging off. 

* * *

** _Epilogue 1 of 3_ **

“Peter, for the last time, I’m fine,” Mary Jane says, placing her hand on his face. He cups her hand in his own, reassured that she’s ok. “Ok, Tiger?” 

“I know, I know,” Peter responds, kissing her. “I just didn’t want you to be hurt.”

“I’m not hurt. As a matter of fact, since we got the house to ourselves, why don’t I show you?” Peter grins at her and goes to kiss her again. They’re interrupted by a knock at the door. Groaning, Peter reluctantly gets up. They go to answer the door, and Peter has to force himself not to react, as Jamie Madrox is standing in their doorway with Monet St. Croix. 

“Uh… hi? How can I help you?” Peter asks. 

“We just wanted to thank you pal Spider-Man for his help last night,” Jamie says, giving a knowing grin. Peter and Mary Jane share a slight glance, that the duo from X-Factor notes. “Oh… She knows, doesn’t she?” Every fiber of his being wants to deny what he’s being asked, but his instinct is telling him to trust Madrox. 

“Yeah, she knows. She knows that I’m Spider-Man.” 

* * *

** _Epilogue 2 of 3_ **

“I’m so sorry I attacked you!” Rachel exclaims. She and Kitty are currently snuggled up together watching a movie. 

“It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you one bit,” Kitty says, resting her head on Rachel’s shoulder. “I love you. So much, and possession by magical gamma energy will never change that.” 

“Speaking of which, with what’s coming, what do we do?” 

“We’re gonna have to be on standby, and whatever happens, we’ll deal with it as a team,” Kitty affirms. She looks at the love of her life, so grateful that she exists. While individually they’re powerful, together they’re unstoppable. 

“I love you, Kitty Pryde,” Rachel declares. 

“And I love you too Rachel Grey. I’m so glad we’re finally getting to see a movie. You’ve owed me this for 4 months,” Kitty responds, with a relaxed smile on her face. 

* * *

** _Epilogue 3 of 3_ **

The three men, if you could even call them that, sat around a table. They’re joined by a 4th man, Dr. Doom. 

“It looks like we got under their skin, and sufficiently riled them up. It was so satisfying seeing the Hulk trying to figure out what’s going on,” The Leader smugly says. 

“The hard light tech my company has been working on seems to have aided you and those gamma creatures well,” One of the newcomers reply. 

“Finding geniuses from other dimensions, why have I never thought of this before?” Leader questions. “And Doom, using your magical knowledge to amplify my gamma projection, that saved me from another few hours of work.” 

“I’m not just a genius, I’m a 12th level intellect. And you can call me Luthor,” Lex Luthor declares. 

“Now that we know these Avengers, while not actually here, seem to be the go-to team of your universe, much like the Justice League is on our Earth, we can orchestrate a takedown,” Hugo Strange adds. 

“Here’s to the new Intelligencia,” The Leader sinisterly declares. 

**Author's Note:**

> So this was my first time ever trying spooky. I also had a vastly different original premise here, but then it ballooned and became this. As always, let me know what you think!


End file.
